Travels in Spain
My first foray into Europe was UK, about 18 years ago. Before that, I was living in NY for about two years. Relative to that, UK (London in particular) didn't feel all that different. It was a major cosmopolitan city, not much unlike NYC, and although it probably had its own quirks - I was too consumed hanging out with my friends to discover anything.
Fast forward another 12 years and I start dating a girl from Spain and I get my second custom tailored visit to Europe. This time I get to really discover the land - and boy did I discover. The gastronomy, the relaxed lifestyle, the history - and everything else that goes along with it.
A Road Trip Across Spain
Every time we have visited Spain, we've made it to take mini road trips here and there. One of the major road trips included driving all the way from the north of Spain to the south, to Malaga and Fuengirola. We've made at least two road trips from north to south, through two different routes. One of them involved a lot of medieval towns/cities, while the other involved pit-stops with friends and a lot of food.
A small medieval town in the Province of Burgos. Frias has the honor of being the smallest "city" in Spain, given this title in 1435. And it is really small - the maximum number of inhabitants this town has ever seen is 275.
A walk through San Sebastián (Donostia, as it is known in Basque), a summer capital of Spain, is here where the Belle Epoque (beautiful era) lives on. Second part of the A Day Trip to San Sebastián.
When I saw the beach at the famous Playa de la Concha in San Sebastian for the first time, immediately a beach scene from 1960s movie came into my head.
During their lifetime, Churchill and Gandhi, amongst others have stated that: "You can learn a lot about a culture by how it treats its' old".
This was taken in The Cathedral and former Great Mosque of Córdoba, locally known as Mezquita-Catedral.
This was taken in in Ubeda, a small town near Cordoba, in the south of Spain. The town is really small, and at night the smaller streets are lit up using halogen lights, which give it a really nice orange glow.
The Occupy Movement, and protests of that nature did not originate in the US on Wall Street.
This is chacoli being served at the famous Bar Haizea in San Sebastian. If this guy looks familiar, you probably saw him on an episode of No Reservations, when Anthony Bourdain went on a culinary tour around Spain's Basque region.
Cantabria
And of course, a lot of road trips were made in the province that I always visit, which is Cantabria. Driving through the province of Cantabria in Spain, you'll know why they call it Cantabria Verde (Green Cantabria). The locals also call the inner parts of Cantabria to be Cantabria Profunda, or Deep Cantabria. Cantabria belongs to Green Spain, the name given to the strip of land between the Bay of Biscay and the Cantabrian Mountains, so called because of its particularly lush vegetation. Even though most of my drives have been in fall/winter, the green landscape doesn't disappoint. These are some of the stories from our road trips in Spain.
Who wouldn't want to wake up in the morning to a view like this? Well, its the view that most people who live in Potes see everyday. Potes is a small village in the region of Cantabria, and is on one of the prettiest. The village is in the centre of the historic Liébana region, an area that is surrounded by spectacular mountains, with running streams and rivers. Its old quarter has the Property of Cultural Interest designation. Its the first stop on our road trip through Spain, in the series SN2S 12/7
Lunch in Spain like my country is a bigger deal than dinner - it just goes better with a siesta.
I guess if you're been following most of the pictures from Spain, you can sense a theme. In short, the theme is 'take a step back and relax'.
This image is really an homage - I first saw something like this in Francesco's blog a while back, and when I saw that, I thought that I will never see such a nice place like that living in a city and/or near the city.
his was taken in Santillana del Mar, a small village in Cantabria, about 2 hours away from Santander. How can I describe this village - well, first of all, its called the village of three lies....
This is a house on the side of a hill in Bustidono, a small village about 2/3 hours away from Santander - its about 30 seconds walk from Cris's house. What can I say - its every bit as awesome as it looks. Again, the absence of any mechanical noise changes everything...
This is the village of Malataja, on the way to Bustidono, a small village about 2/3 hours away from Santander in Cantabria. Overlooking the village is the Pico de Tres Mares (Peak of 3 Seas).
Santander
Santander is the capital and the largest city in Cantabria. Santander has a charm that feels like an old world Gatsby like town. The area that exudes this charm the most is 'El Sardinero', considered as a summer destination for the Spanish high society in the early twentieth century. During the reign of Alfonso XIII Santander became thefavourite holiday place of court. In 1908 the city built and gave to the king the “Palacio de la Magdalena”.
This is on the coast of Santander near the main city, around the ferry that leaves for Somo, a tiny little village on the other side of this bay.
This is a beach in Santander, called El Camello (The Camel). Its called this because further out there is smaller piece of rock sticking out from the sea that looks like a camel - but this rock looked much more interesting.
I was standing next to a shop in Santander when I was heard this couple argue for about 15 mins. They spoke in spanish, and I understood absolutely nothing. It was clear though who was winning the argument :)
A lighthouse off the coast of the private beach in Royal Palace in Sardinero, Santander.
This is during a walk to the city center in Santander, which is at a much lower sea level than the surrounding residential area - so you usually have to walk down. The street are small, reminiscent of old European cities.
This is Santander from above, a relaxed hilly town in Cantabria in the northern part of Spain. This is where I spent most of my time in Spain, and the easygoing mood of the town totally captivated me.
